Critical thinking, according to Paul and Elder (2014) is “the disciplined art of ensuring that you use the best thinking you are capable of in any set of circumstances” (p. xiii). There are several aspects of critical thinking such as the elements of thought, levels of thought, universal intellectual standards, intellectual traits, stages of critical thinking, and a few others. This critical thinking note will focus on the standards. The standards of critical thinking are used to assess reasoning—in reading, writing, listening, or speaking. Primary standards include “clarity, accuracy, precision, relevance, depth, breadth, logicalness, and significance” (Paul & Elder, 2014, p. 83). These standards are directly applicable to students or learners who write papers and faculty who read them and assign grades and provide feedback. Phrasing these standards in terms of useful questions, we have.
Is the sentence, paragraph, concept, or paper clear? Do I understand it? Would an example help me to understand? Would anything help me understand it?
Is this sentence, paragraph, concept, or paper true? How could the sentence, paragraph, concept, or paper be supported, justified, confirmed, or falsified?
Is this sentence, paragraph, concept, or paper precise or specific, or is it more of an abstract generality? What could make this sentence, paragraph, concept, or paper more specific and more meaningful to the reader? What details could be included to improve precision?
Is this sentence, paragraph, concept, or paper related in some way to the topic under discussion? What improvement might be included to bring it into alignment?
Does this sentence, paragraph, concept, or paper cover the topic in sufficient depth or does it just provide a high-level perspective that while interesting may be essentially meaningless?
Does this sentence, paragraph, concept, or paper cover the topic in sufficient breadth or does it just provide a narrow perspective?
Is this sentence, paragraph, concept, or paper logical and make any sense? Is there any supporting evidence? Does one element follow another or are these elements a sort of jumbled mess?
Does this sentence, paragraph, concept, or paper address the so what question? Would anyone care? Is it important to include or is it filler?
These universal standards are helpful in assessing sentences, paragraphs, concepts, or papers in terms of assigning a grade and provide a focus for feedback. The intent of discussing these standards is to improve reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
In addition, consider the upside and downside of decisions
Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2014). Critical thinking: Tools for taking charge of your learning and your life (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.